Given the age of the speakers, there were some holes identified in the speaker membranes. They were patched up using the technique developed by expert electrostatic speaker craftsman Russell Knotts from eslrepair.com. The speakers now perform as they should and should provide great listening pleasure for many more years to come.

The Soundlab A3 is the late Gordon Holt's (Stereophile) favourite speakers. He commented on its tonal qualities:

"I would liken it to a superb tubed power amplifier. Though not altogether uncolored—no loudspeaker is—its colorations have a strong personal appeal. The sound is rather warm and rich through the low end, rather rotund and gutsy through the lower middle range, and soft and sweet through the high end. Through its entire range it has the incredible transparency and delicacy that I have only, to date, heard from wide-range electrostatics. It is, in short, my kind of loudspeaker."

He then concluded his stereophile review:

"The A-3s are the most perfect embodiment to date of my ideal loudspeaker system. Never in my life have I lived with a speaker that has brought, and continues to bring, as much pleasure, excitement, and satisfaction. In short, I am madly, passionately in love with their sound..."

Although not as popular as Quad ESLs, Soundlab speakers are well known among electrostatic aficionados as the speaker the Quad ESLs aspire to be. Indeed, Doug Schoeder in his review (of another Soundlab model) commented that "The Sound Lab does remind me of a Quad, but with a far higher performance level and, in my opinion, more reliability."

Price is firm. They costed more than $9,000 in the 1990's and current versions of the A3 costs more than $29,000.

This is a great opportunity to acquire a state-of-the-art loudspeaker at an affordable cost. Purchasers of these speakers are well supported by Soundlab as they have a policy that "any product we manufacture can be brought up to the present technical level at a reasonable cost." These speakers are compatible with the new A3PX sound panels.

Local sale only due to size. As mentioned above, price includes delivery within reasonable distance from GTA.